The invention relates to air conditioning and heat pump systems. More particularly, the invention relates to accumulator/dryer units for such systems.
Accumulator and dryer units are well known in the art. One application where accumulators are particularly important is in reversible systems (e.g., a system that may be run as a heat pump in one mode and an air conditioner in another mode). U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,057 discloses a combined accumulator/dryer unit used in a reversible system. In such a reversible system, first and second heat exchangers serve as a condenser and evaporator, respectively, in the air conditioner mode and as an evaporator and condenser, respectively, in the heat pump mode. The two heat exchangers are often dissimilar, being configured for preferred operation in one of the modes. Due, in part, to this dissimilarity, the combined mass of refrigerant in the two heat exchangers will differ between the modes. It is, accordingly, appropriate to buffer at least this difference in an accumulator. As in non-reversible systems, the accumulator may also serve to buffer smaller amounts associated with changes in operating conditions, and the like.
Nevertheless, there remains room for improvement in the art.